A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

June 24, 2020May 26, 2020 | Tasha

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown (9780062891495)

Karina knows she isn’t the daughter her mother wanted. After Karina’s older sister and father were killed in a fire that she can barely remember, Karina had to take her sister’s place as heir. But her mother, The Kestrel, never taught her the same way that her older sister was taught, and Karina found great pleasure in defying any expectations. Now the country is starting a new era, triggered by the appearance of a comet in the skies, where the various factions will fight to see whose god or goddess rules in the next 50 years. Karina’s mother shows her for the first time, the magic that keeps their country safe, but then is killed before explaining it fully to her. Now Karina must find a way forward, led by a book’s instructions on resurrecting the dead. Meanwhile, Malik is a refugee caught outside the city’s walls. When his little sister is trapped by a dark spirit, Malik must promise to kill Karina in order to gain his sister’s release. He soon discovers that what he had been told was mental issues was actually his magic, a magic that he uses to get closer to be Karina by becoming a Champion, seemingly selected by his god. As the lives of the two run parallel to one another, they find themselves negotiating politics, magic, greed, and betrayal.

Brown has crafted an entire world of matriarchal queens that spirals with hidden and forgotten magic. Filled with African elements, the story weaves around figures such as Hyena, wraiths that lurk in the corners of the world, and the savagery of power. Brown also speaks to the plight of refugees, of entire people’s being seen as lesser than and vilified while still used as servants. Her world is detailed and fascinating, including a well-crafted alignment system that plays into the contests and much more.

The two main protagonists are complicated. At times, each of them becomes quite unlikeable, making choices that are questionable. And yet, one can’t help but root for them to figure things out, come back to being the people readers know they are deep down, and to realize that they are heroines and heroes of their own lives. Readers will enjoy the romantic elements, but nicely these are not the main focus of the novel which is jam-packed with action, contests, battles and more.

Unique, detailed and fascinating, this first book in a series is a heady mix of African myth, political intrigue and fantasy. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Balzer + Bray.

Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

June 22, 2020June 16, 2020 | Tasha

Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti (9781534426979)

Sydney is the daughter of the famous Lila Shore, an actress who did an iconic sex scene. Sydney lives most of the year in Seattle attending a private school, living in a dorm, and visiting her grandmother. But over the summer, Sydney heads to San Francisco to spend months with her mother, who never seems to actually have time to spend with Sydney. Lila lives in Jake’s house, dating him and staying for free. It’s a house near the beach with cliff views, a house that is often fogged in, a house full of secrets and violence. Jake pays a lot of attention to Sydney, as does a construction worker at a neighboring house. Sydney is creeped out by the sudden attention to what she is wearing, how she looks and innuendos about what she does. However, she doesn’t mind the attention from Nicco, a sweet boy she meets on the beach, who captures lines and moments from each day in his journal. As the summer goes on though, the tension grows towards a foreshadowed tragedy that is almost inevitable.

In this slow burn of of thriller mystery, Caletti focuses on how unwanted male attention impacts teen girls, both in the way they act but even more importantly on the way they view themselves. With an even brighter light than our general society, Caletti uses the intensity of fame to capture society’s objectification of women and finding value in the physical rather than the internal.

The book works on several levels with the thriller being steadily foreshadowed by the court documents listed at the beginning of each chapter. The mystery of what happened, the steadily build of tension, and the intensity of the revealing scene. It also works as a deep work of feminist literature, insisting that the reader notice what is going on, notice the impact that male attention has, and notice that something must be done to change this.

An intense feminist novel for teens that insists on being noticed. Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Simon Pulse.

Again Again by E. Lockhart

June 17, 2020May 12, 2020 | Tasha

Again Again by E. Lockhart (9780385744799)

This inventive book from the author of We Were Liars offers readers a way to look at the world as more than a single continuum but instead a landscape of possibilities. Adelaide is spending the summer on the empty campus of the private school that she attends and where her father teaches. The plan had been to spend the summer with her boyfriend, but just as summer was about to start, he abruptly broke up with her and headed off to an international study program. Now Adelaide spends her time walking dogs that she doesn’t own and avoiding dealing with her failing grade in a set design course. Then she meets a boy at the dog park and all sorts of options appear to fill her summer with new love, friendship, dogs, accidents, and art.

Lockhart is a constantly creative author who manages to continue to surprise and delight with her novels. Here she explores an entire world of parallel universes driven by small choices in daily lives. It’s a way without being preachy to show us all that we do not have one chosen monogamous relationship that is our destiny, but rather many options, parallel and fascinating, endlessly spiraling out from one another.

I particularly loved the characters that Lockhart creates here. They are maddening at times but also glorious individuals who are creative and interesting. Adelaide in particular is exceptionally drawn, particularly given the parallel choices she could make. This lets us explore her character more deeply, seeing the various options and the life she could have chosen.

A great read that will get you philosophically thinking of your own parallel universes. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Delacorte Press.

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook

June 10, 2020June 9, 2020 | Tasha

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Hyung-Ju Ko (9781945820427)

This timely read captures the work of protestors and underground activists in South Korea in the early 1980s. Hyun Sook was the first in her family to go to college. Her family and she had high hopes for her future. But on the first day of school, she has to cross through a demonstration to even enter campus. Soon she finds herself in the midst of a group of activists, even though she just wanted to join a folk dance group and a book club. As Hyun Sook starts to learn more about the Fifth Republic and the political situation she is in, her views start to change and she begins to help the revolutionaries. The work is seriously dangerous, as members of their group are taken by the police regularly and tortured. Hyun Sook must decide if she will stay and fight or quietly head back to simply going to college.

This graphic novel is so powerful. It looks at a totalitarian regime and the efforts to overthrow it, particularly the ideas and books that the regime forbids. It’s a deep dive behind the lines of the activists in the 1980’s a fictionalized graphical version of a true story that the author lived through. The courage and tenacity shown on the pages is remarkable, calling for all of us to lead our own revolutions or at least read revolutionary books.

The art is done in black and white, stark at times, violent at others. It doesn’t flinch from showing what truly happened when police took people into custody. The echoes between this and our own society are strong, making one ask questions about totalitarianism in our own western world.

A call to action, filled with anger, activism and books. Appropriate for ages 13-18.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Iron Circus Comics.

Readings YA Book Prize 2020 Shortlist

June 9, 2020June 3, 2020 | Tasha

Books+Publishing has the announcement of the shortlist for the 2020 Readings YA Book Prize. The Australian prize is open to authors with a debut or second YA novel. The judges looked for books that were “great YA fiction, had diversity in style and subject matter, and were stories that young people would enjoy.” Here are the shortlisted titles:

Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy (published in July 2020 in the United States)

Everywhere Everything Everyone by Katy Warner

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard

The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim (published in November 2020 in the United States)

Take the Shot by Susan White

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

June 8, 2020May 1, 2020 | Tasha

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (9780062882769)

After a plane crashes on its way to the Dominican Republic, two families are impacted with grief and loss. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her auntie who is a local healer. She dreams of becoming a doctor and going to college in America. Her father, who died in the plane crash, lived most of the time in New York City, spending every summer with Camino. In New York City, Yahaira’s father was also killed in the crash. Yahaira had adored her father until she discovered his secret. She had been his champion chess player, competing and winning for him. But once she found out that he had another family in the Dominican Republic, she never forgave him. Now he is gone and it isn’t until they are preparing for his funeral that Yahaira and Camino discover that they are half-sisters born within months of one another.

Written in verse, this novel moves between the perspectives of Camino and Yahaira. The book begins with their father still alive and quickly moves to the crash and the shock of loss. The differences between their lives are stark with the poverty of the Dominican Republic clearly depicted as well as the dangers for teen girls. Still, it is also shown as a place of strong community, loving families, with bright colors, great food and warm welcomes.

Acevedo so clearly could have allowed the revelation of their shared father to be the defining moment of both of the girls’ lives. But she moves beyond it, creating a bond between these two teenagers that is powerful and haunting. It is not automatic, but steadily built as the trust grows between them, offering them both a way forward from the crash that they never anticipated.

Beautifully written, this is another marvel of a read from Acevedo. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Quill Tree Books.

16 New June Teen Books to Wake Your Brain Cells

June 3, 2020May 18, 2020 | Tasha

Here are 16 of the new books for teens that are being released in June and are getting lots of buzz:

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

All the Things We Never Knew by Liara Tamani

Burn by Patrick Ness

The Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell

Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

Hood by Jenny Elder Moke

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae

My Eyes Are Up Here by Laura Zimmermann

Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef

Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross

Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson

You Say It First by Katie Cotugno

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Parachutes by Kelly Yang

June 3, 2020April 27, 2020 | Tasha

Parachutes by Kelly Yang (9780062941084)

Claire and Dani could not be more different from one another. Claire comes from Chinese wealth in Shanghai. When her father decides that she should go to school in the United States, she is quickly moved to California and into Dani’s house. Dani lives there with just her mother. She attends the same school as Claire, but as a scholarship student. Dani loves to debate and enjoys the attention her debate coach shows her. As the two girls navigate high school in parallel but separate social spheres, they both encounter sexual harassment and assault. Both of them shut down, lose sight of themselves, and tell almost no one what has happened. But as they get angry and refuse to be silenced, the two discover that they may just be the person the other one has needed to be their champion.

Yang tells the story of Chinese parachute students who come to the United States for high school. Their experience is fascinating and unique. Sent to a foreign country alone as a teenager, often from very wealthy families, these teens must learn in a new language and figure out a different society. There is so much to envy here, from the clothing to the handbags to the cars. The expectations for someone like Claire are huge, the pressure form her family immense, and the situations very adult.

Against that wealth and shimmer, Dani’s story is set. She is Filipino, she and her mother work as cleaners in the large homes. She goes to school with wealthy kids, but is known as a scholarship student. She is bright and ferocious, defending her friends along the way. Yet when her teacher sexually harasses her, Dani loses her voice and must regain her passion and anger to find a way forward.

The pairing of these two different girls is phenomenal, their journeys linked but separate in many ways. Powerful, wrenching and insistent, this novel is a rallying cry. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Katherine Tegen Books.

2020 Locus Awards Finalists

June 1, 2020May 30, 2020 | Tasha

The finalists for the 2020 Locus Awards have been announced. The awards are given for the best science fiction and fantasy of the year in a wide variety of categories that include books, magazines, artists, editors and publishers. They have one category specifically for the best YA novel. Here are the finalists in that category: